# Start a business in Chester: the getting-started checklist 53 steps. Last source review: July 11, 2026. Use this as a working list, not legal, tax, accounting, or licensing advice. Requirements depend on the business, activity, location, and people involved. Verify each requirement with the issuing agency before acting. ## 01 · Shape the idea: Prove the work before the paperwork. Write down what you are building, who will buy it, and what it takes to reach the first sale. - [ ] Name the customer and the problem. (Plan first) Write one plain sentence for who you serve, what they need, and why they would choose you. - [ ] Test demand with real conversations. (Plan first) Talk with likely customers. Record what they buy now, what frustrates them, and what would make them switch. - Official source: [U.S. Small Business Administration: Plan your business](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business) - [ ] Define the first offer and price. (Plan first) Choose the smallest useful product or service you can sell. List the direct cost and the price you plan to test. - [ ] Build a startup-cost list. (Plan first) Include the site, equipment, inventory, professional help, deposits, permits, insurance, payroll, and cash needed before revenue arrives. - Official source: [U.S. Small Business Administration: Plan your business](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business) - [ ] Write the working plan. (Plan first) Capture the offer, customers, sales path, operations, owners, startup costs, monthly costs, and a simple cash-flow forecast. - Official source: [U.S. Small Business Administration: Plan your business](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business) - Official source: [Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity: Illinois step-by-step guide](https://dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/beginhere/stepbystepguide.html) - [ ] List the help you need. (Plan first) Mark the questions that need an attorney, accountant, banker, insurer, contractor, or business counselor. Do not guess through a high-cost decision. ## 02 · Choose the foundation: Decide the name, structure, and place. These choices affect filings, taxes, liability, ownership, and which address appears on applications. - [ ] Choose a business structure. (Plan first) Compare a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, and corporation with qualified legal and tax help before filing. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity: Illinois step-by-step guide](https://dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/beginhere/stepbystepguide.html) - Official source: [Internal Revenue Service: Starting a business](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/starting-a-business) - [ ] Put owner decisions in writing. (Plan first) Record ownership shares, contributions, decision rights, pay, exits, and what happens if an owner cannot continue. - [ ] Check the proposed name. (Plan first) Search the Illinois business database and check whether the name creates a trademark or online-brand conflict before buying signs or printing materials. - Official source: [Illinois Secretary of State: Business Services](https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business-services.html) - [ ] Choose the operating address. (Plan first) Identify every place where work, storage, sales, food preparation, or customer visits will happen. Home-based work can still trigger local or industry rules. - Official source: [City of Chester: Chester maps and zoning](https://www.chesterill.com/cityMapsAndZoning) - [ ] Confirm the use before signing a lease or buying. (Before opening) Ask Chester’s zoning and building staff whether the planned use, occupancy, signs, renovations, parking, and inspections fit the address. - Official source: [City of Chester: Chester maps and zoning](https://www.chesterill.com/cityMapsAndZoning) - Official source: [City of Chester: Complete code of ordinances](https://www.chesterill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/COMPLETE-CODE.pdf) - [ ] Form or register the entity when required. (When it applies) Illinois Business Services handles formation or registration for corporations, not-for-profits, LLCs, and specified partnership types. - Official source: [Illinois Secretary of State: Business Services](https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business-services.html) - [ ] File an assumed name when required. (When it applies) Illinois directs sole proprietorships and general partnerships using a name different from the owners’ full legal names to the local county clerk. Use Randolph County’s current form and confirm the filing and publication steps with the clerk. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity: Illinois step-by-step guide](https://dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/beginhere/stepbystepguide.html) - Official source: [Randolph County Clerk: Randolph County assumed-name certificate](https://randolphcountyil.gov/wp-content/uploads/Assumed-Name-Certificate.pdf) ## 03 · Set up IDs and taxes: Build the filing trail in the right order. Form the entity first when applicable, then create the tax accounts the business actually needs. - [ ] Get an EIN directly from the IRS when needed. (When it applies) The IRS application is free. The IRS says legal entities should be formed with the state before applying for an EIN. - Official source: [Internal Revenue Service: Get an employer identification number](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/get-an-employer-identification-number) - [ ] Determine Illinois tax registration responsibilities. (Before opening) Use IDOR’s current registration guidance to identify sales, withholding, income, excise, and other accounts that apply to the business. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Revenue: Illinois business registration](https://tax.illinois.gov/businesses/registration.html) - [ ] Register through MyTax Illinois when required. (Before opening) IDOR directs new registrants to Form REG-1 and says applicable registration should be complete before purchases, sales, or hiring. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Revenue: Illinois business registration](https://tax.illinois.gov/businesses/registration.html) - [ ] Create a tax calendar. (Keep current) Record each federal, state, and local filing or payment after the agency assigns it. Add the return even when no tax is due if the account requires one. - Official source: [Internal Revenue Service: Starting a business](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/starting-a-business) - Official source: [Illinois Department of Revenue: Illinois business registration](https://tax.illinois.gov/businesses/registration.html) - [ ] Choose the bookkeeping and recordkeeping method. (Before opening) Decide who records income, expenses, payroll, owner contributions, loans, assets, and sales tax. Keep source documents with each entry. - Official source: [Internal Revenue Service: Starting a business](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/starting-a-business) - [ ] Check the current federal BOI rule, not an old checklist. (When it applies) At this guide’s review date, FinCEN says entities created in the United States and their beneficial owners are exempt from BOI reporting. Foreign-formed entities registered to do business in a state can still fall under the rule. Verify the live FinCEN notice. - Official source: [Financial Crimes Enforcement Network: Beneficial ownership information reporting](https://www.fincen.gov/boi) ## 04 · Clear the permissions: Know what must approve the work. Licenses and permits depend on the activity and the address. Ask before construction, ordering equipment, or announcing an opening date. - [ ] Confirm the Chester business license. (Before opening) Chester’s business code requires a city license for businesses operating from a location inside city limits when the business is not otherwise licensed or regulated under the code. Ask the City Clerk which article, application, and fee apply. - Official source: [City of Chester: Chester business code](https://www.chesterill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/9-BUSINESS-CODE-CHAPTER-7.pdf) - [ ] Confirm zoning, building, sign, and occupancy approvals. (Before opening) Give city staff the address, planned use, floor plan, proposed work, signs, expected occupancy, and opening sequence. Get the required approvals before using the space. - Official source: [City of Chester: Chester maps and zoning](https://www.chesterill.com/cityMapsAndZoning) - Official source: [City of Chester: Complete code of ordinances](https://www.chesterill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/COMPLETE-CODE.pdf) - [ ] Search state registrations, licenses, and permits. (When it applies) Use the Illinois service directory, then verify each result on the issuing agency’s page. Requirements depend on the activity. - Official source: [State of Illinois: Registrations, licenses and permits](https://www.illinois.gov/business/registration-licenses-permits.html) - [ ] Check professional and industry licensing. (When it applies) If the work is regulated, open the profession or industry page and follow its current application, entity, and renewal instructions. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation: Regulated professions and industries](https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/proflist.html) - [ ] Talk with the health department before food or regulated-site work. (When it applies) Randolph County handles local environmental-health programs and inspects permanent, seasonal, and temporary food-service locations. Its page also routes cottage food, body art, water, and private-sewage questions. - Official source: [Randolph County Health Department: Environmental health and food establishments](https://randolphcountyil.gov/health-department/environmental-health/) - [ ] Screen for air, land, and water permits. (When it applies) Use Illinois EPA’s small-business roadmap if the operation can create emissions, wastewater, waste, or other pollution-control questions. - Official source: [Illinois Environmental Protection Agency: Does my business need a pollution-control permit?](https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/small-business/publications/pollution-control-permit.html) - [ ] Build a license and inspection folder. (Keep current) Keep submitted applications, approvals, inspection reports, certificates, account numbers, renewal dates, and the agency contact for every requirement. ## 05 · Set up the money: Separate the business and fund the first mile. Make the cash trail legible before the first purchase or sale. - [ ] Open a business bank account. (Before opening) Ask the bank which formation, assumed-name, ownership, and tax-ID documents it needs. Route business income and expenses through the business account. - Official source: [U.S. Small Business Administration: Open a business bank account](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/open-business-bank-account) - [ ] Choose how customers will pay. (Before opening) Document cash, check, invoice, card, online, refund, deposit, and chargeback procedures that fit the offer. - [ ] Set the opening cash plan. (Plan first) List cash on hand, committed funding, purchases, deposits, monthly costs, owner draws, debt payments, and the lowest safe cash balance. - Official source: [U.S. Small Business Administration: Fund your business](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/fund-your-business) - [ ] Assemble the funding file. (When it applies) Keep the business plan, owner information, formation records, licenses, quotes, projections, bank statements, and the exact use of funds ready for a lender or program application. - Official source: [U.S. Small Business Administration: Fund your business](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/fund-your-business) - [ ] Search the Chester program finder. (When it applies) Filter official-source programs by project, audience, support type, availability, and Chester fit. Treat the listing as a lead, then verify the live program before applying. - Next step: [Find a program](https://investinginchester.com/resources#program-finder) - [ ] Review insurance with a licensed professional. (Before opening) Describe the owners, employees, property, vehicles, products, professional work, customer visits, contracts, and online operations. Record what is covered, excluded, and required by a lease or lender. ## 06 · Build the operating system: Make the first sale repeatable. Write the simple routines that protect cash, customers, records, and the people doing the work. - [ ] Map the sales path. (Before opening) Write how a customer finds you, asks for a quote, agrees, pays, receives the work, reports a problem, and buys again. - [ ] Prepare quotes, contracts, and policies. (Before opening) Put scope, price, payment timing, changes, cancellations, refunds, warranties, delivery, and ownership of work in writing. Use legal review where the risk justifies it. - [ ] Confirm vendors and backups. (Before opening) Record lead times, minimum orders, payment terms, shipping, return rules, tax documents, and a backup for anything that can stop the business. - [ ] Protect accounts and customer information. (Before opening) Use unique accounts, multifactor authentication, role-based access, tested backups, and a written rule for who can move money or change payment instructions. - [ ] Create the permanent records folder. (Keep current) Store formation documents, owner agreements, tax letters, permits, insurance, leases, loans, contracts, payroll records, and renewals in one controlled place. - [ ] Run one complete test transaction. (Before opening) Test the inquiry, quote, sale, payment, receipt, fulfillment, bookkeeping entry, tax treatment, and customer follow-up before the public opening. ## 07 · Prepare to hire: Do the employer setup before day one. This section applies when the business will hire employees. Worker classification and payroll errors can be costly, so get qualified help where the answer is not clear. - [ ] Classify each worker correctly. (Before hiring) Do not choose employee or independent-contractor status for convenience. Review the actual working relationship with qualified tax or legal help. - Official source: [Internal Revenue Service: Employment taxes](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/employment-taxes) - [ ] Register with IDES when becoming an employer. (Before hiring) Illinois directs new employers to register electronically through MyTax Illinois or use its current employer-registration form and instructions. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Employment Security: Register as a new employer](https://ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/taxes-reporting/are-you-a-new-employer-register.html) - [ ] Set up payroll and employment-tax deposits. (Before hiring) Configure federal and Illinois withholding, unemployment, wage reporting, pay statements, filing dates, and who reconciles payroll to the books. - Official source: [Internal Revenue Service: Employment taxes](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/employment-taxes) - Official source: [Illinois Department of Employment Security: Register as a new employer](https://ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/taxes-reporting/are-you-a-new-employer-register.html) - [ ] Confirm workers’ compensation coverage. (Before hiring) Review the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission handbook and arrange required coverage before work begins. - Official source: [Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission: Workers’ compensation handbook](https://iwcc.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/iwcc/documents/handbook.pdf) - [ ] Use the current Form I-9 process. (Before hiring) Download the current form and employer instructions from USCIS. Build a secure process for completion, document review, retention, and reverification when required. - Official source: [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Form I-9](https://www.uscis.gov/i-9) - [ ] Report each new hire on time. (Before hiring) Illinois says employers must report new employees to the state New Hire Directory within 20 days of the employee’s first day on payroll. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Employment Security: New hire reporting](https://ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/taxes-reporting/new-hires.html) - [ ] Post and distribute required notices. (Before hiring) Use the Illinois Department of Labor page to identify notices required for all employers and any additional notices triggered by the work or workforce. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Labor: Required posters and disclosures](https://labor.illinois.gov/employers/posters.html) - [ ] Write the first-day people process. (Before hiring) Prepare the offer, role, pay authorization, policies, emergency contact, safety training, access, timekeeping, supervision, and offboarding steps. ## 08 · Open and stay current: Launch with proof, then keep the file alive. Opening day is a checkpoint. Compliance, cash, licenses, and the plan continue to change after it. - [ ] Confirm every required approval is active. (Before opening) Check the license, zoning, occupancy, health, professional, tax, insurance, and employer items that apply. Keep proof where staff can find it. - [ ] Write the opening-day runbook. (Before opening) List who opens, safety checks, cash controls, customer contacts, vendor contacts, issue escalation, closing, and the decision to pause if an approval is missing. - [ ] Review cash every week. (Keep current) Compare bank balances, unpaid invoices, upcoming bills, payroll, taxes held, inventory commitments, and the forecast. Investigate differences while records are fresh. - [ ] Close the books every month. (Keep current) Reconcile accounts, review profit and cash flow, save statements, review tax liabilities, and update the forecast with actual results. - [ ] Track reports, renewals, and inspections. (Keep current) Put each annual report, license renewal, tax return, insurance renewal, lease date, loan requirement, and inspection in a shared calendar with an owner and an earlier preparation date. - [ ] Report material changes. (Keep current) Before changing the name, owners, entity, address, location, activity, payroll, or regulated work, ask each affected agency and insurer what must be updated. - Official source: [Illinois Department of Revenue: Illinois business registration](https://tax.illinois.gov/businesses/registration.html) - Official source: [Illinois Secretary of State: Business Services](https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business-services.html) - Official source: [City of Chester: Chester business code](https://www.chesterill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/9-BUSINESS-CODE-CHAPTER-7.pdf) - [ ] Revisit the plan each quarter. (Keep current) Compare sales, costs, cash, customer learning, capacity, risks, and the next funding need. Replace assumptions with evidence. ## Source index - [U.S. Small Business Administration: Plan your business](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business) - [Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity: Illinois step-by-step guide](https://dceo.illinois.gov/smallbizassistance/beginhere/stepbystepguide.html) - [Illinois Secretary of State: Business Services](https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business-services.html) - [Randolph County Clerk: Randolph County assumed-name certificate](https://randolphcountyil.gov/wp-content/uploads/Assumed-Name-Certificate.pdf) - [Internal Revenue Service: Starting a business](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/starting-a-business) - [Internal Revenue Service: Get an employer identification number](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/get-an-employer-identification-number) - [Illinois Department of Revenue: Illinois business registration](https://tax.illinois.gov/businesses/registration.html) - [State of Illinois: Registrations, licenses and permits](https://www.illinois.gov/business/registration-licenses-permits.html) - [City of Chester: Chester business code](https://www.chesterill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/9-BUSINESS-CODE-CHAPTER-7.pdf) - [City of Chester: Chester maps and zoning](https://www.chesterill.com/cityMapsAndZoning) - [City of Chester: Complete code of ordinances](https://www.chesterill.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/COMPLETE-CODE.pdf) - [Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation: Regulated professions and industries](https://idfpr.illinois.gov/profs/proflist.html) - [Randolph County Health Department: Environmental health and food establishments](https://randolphcountyil.gov/health-department/environmental-health/) - [Illinois Environmental Protection Agency: Does my business need a pollution-control permit?](https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/small-business/publications/pollution-control-permit.html) - [U.S. Small Business Administration: Open a business bank account](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/open-business-bank-account) - [U.S. Small Business Administration: Fund your business](https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/fund-your-business) - [Financial Crimes Enforcement Network: Beneficial ownership information reporting](https://www.fincen.gov/boi) - [Illinois Department of Employment Security: Register as a new employer](https://ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/taxes-reporting/are-you-a-new-employer-register.html) - [Internal Revenue Service: Employment taxes](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/employment-taxes) - [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Form I-9](https://www.uscis.gov/i-9) - [Illinois Department of Employment Security: New hire reporting](https://ides.illinois.gov/employer-resources/taxes-reporting/new-hires.html) - [Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission: Workers’ compensation handbook](https://iwcc.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/iwcc/documents/handbook.pdf) - [Illinois Department of Labor: Required posters and disclosures](https://labor.illinois.gov/employers/posters.html) Generated from investinginchester.com/getting-started.